This Day In Sports History (June 18th) — Billy Martin

It was on this day in 1979 that George Steinbrenner re-hired Billy Martin to manage the New York Yankees. This was Martin’s second of an incredible five stints as manager of the Yankees.

Martin first began managing New York in 1975, when he took over for the fired Bill Virdon, and led the Yankees to a 30-26 record in their final 56 games. In his first full season, Martin managed New York to the World Series, where they would meet the reigning World Series Champion Cincinnati Reds. The Reds proved too powerful for the Yankees, sweeping the series in four games.

However, the Yankees made it back to the World Series the very next season, where they faced the Los Angeles Dodgers. New York took the series in six games in what would be Billy Martin’s only World Series title as manager of the New York Yankees.